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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:41:51 GMT 12
Historic NZ flight to be markedNZPA | 12:25PM - Friday, July 17, 2009A flight regarded as signifying the birth of New Zealand's airline industry will be marked this year with 75th anniversary celebrations in the small West Coast town of Haast.
On December 18, 1934, Captain Bert Mercer, the first New Zealander to achieve 10,000 flying hours, began his Air Travel (NZ) Ltd services between Hokitika and South Westland.
Aviation historian the Rev Richard Waugh said today that this country's airlines could all trace their lineage to that date.
"Aviation today is incredibly important in New Zealand and it had its beginnings with a remote air service," he said.
"You can go further and say Air New Zealand can trace its origins back to Fox Moths landing on the beaches of South Westland."
Capt Mercer's scheduled services became indispensable to the isolated region, which had previously had to rely on coastal shipping.
Air NZ predecessor NAC and West Coast Airways continued with the flights until 1967, when the new Haast highway, which opened two years earlier, made the operations uneconomic.
Auckland-based Mr Waugh, who is organising the celebrations on December 18 and 19, expected up to 1000 people to make the trip to Haast.
"The more remote the place, the bigger the crowds we seem to get," he said.
"I've had events here in Auckland with 200 people, and I've had them at Karamea and Wanaka and you get hundreds and thousands."
Mr Waugh, who is also writing a book, Hoki to Haast: New Zealand's First Airline due for release in November, had a personal interest in the anniversary.
His father, Brian Waugh, flew the service from 1959 to 1967 and was its last pilot.
"As a child, I was party to some of the flights," he said.
"I hardly knew at the time that it was such an historically and sociologically important air service."
The planned programme for the celebrations will include a vintage air pageant and among the planes on show will be the Fox Moth that made the pioneering flight.
"Amazingly enough, the very first aircraft that Bert Mercer used has survived and has been restored, and will return in an airworthy state in December," Mr Waugh said.
"I don't think there are many other nations in the world that have their actual beginning airliner still airworthy."
Also on the agenda is the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the Haast district being the southern terminus of the service.
The plaque will be next to the Haast Aerodrome and at the entrance to the town's visitor centre, which receives more than 100,000 visitors each year.nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5732615/historic-nz-flight-to-be-marked
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:42:26 GMT 12
From the Otago Daily TimesRunway extended for airline partyBy MARJORIE COOK | Saturday, 18 July 2009Haast's humble airstrip looked like an auction yard recently as 20 locals mucked in and extended the runway in preparation for one of the biggest community celebrations in a long time.
The Haast 75th Airline Anniversary, on December 18, will celebrate the first commercial flight in New Zealand and is expected to attract at least 2000 visitors and 70 to 80 aircraft to the isolated South Westland community.
Although the party is several months away, anniversary committee chairman Kerry Eggeling believes in being prepared.
"We put 2500 cubic metres of gravel on to the airstrip but must have taken the same amount off the airstrip in mud beforehand. There was an incredible amount of machinery there. It was like an auction yard," Mr Eggeling said.
The activities required seven trucks, three diggers, two bulldozers, two graders, three front-end loaders and one roller, and many Haast locals and businesses pitched in with fuel and food.
The runway is on land owned by Dave Saxton at the junction of State Highway 6 and Jacksons Bay Road and has been extended 70m to 860m at the north end so large aircraft can land in December.
A turning point has also been created at the southern end of the airstrip.
The first commercial flight in New Zealand was into Haast and was undertaken by the late Bert Mercer in 1934, in a DH83 Fox Moth.
Croydon Aircraft Company owner Colin Smith, of Mandeville, said the Fox Moth was a significant part of New Zealand's aviation history and had a colourful past.
The Fox Moth went to the United Kingdom and the United States after it finished operating on the West Coast but was brought back to New Zealand in 1996 by a trust Mr Smith and his wife Maeva set up to protect historic aircraft.
The Fox Moth has been restored and now provides joyrides from the Croydon Aircraft Company airfield at Mandeville.
It is expected to be at Haast in December for the celebrations.
The event would also coincide with a book launch by Auckland aviation historian and writer Richard Waugh.www.odt.co.nz/your-town/hawea/65834/runway-extended-airline-party
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:42:51 GMT 12
Hokitika Airport honours its heritageBy JANNA SHERMAN - The Greymouth Star | Thursday, 06 August 2009The Hokitika Airport is set to undergo a re-branding, paying homage to the Coast’s pioneering aviation history.
The launch of New Zealand’s first scheduled airline service, between Hokitika and Haast, almost 75 years ago, means the Hokitika Airport is the longest serving in the country.
New signs recognising that feat will soon be put in place, and the man who made it all possible, Captain Bert Mercer, will also be honoured.
Hokitika Airport Ltd has accepted a request to rename the arrival and departure lounge at the airport terminal, as the ‘Bert Mercer Lounge’.
The entranceway will be re-branded as ‘Hokitika — Home of New Zealand’s First Airline’.
However, a suggestion of naming the surrounding airport streets to commemorate some of the pilots of the 1934 to 1967 era was rejected.
Auckland aviation historian Richard Waugh, who is driving the re-branding as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations, proposed that the main entrance road be renamed after Frank Molloy to ‘Molloy Drive’. He also suggested another road be named after pilot Norm Suttie, and the road behind the hangars changed to ‘Waugh Way’ in honour of his father, Brian Waugh.
However, the current street names will remain.
Meanwhile, a commemorative plaque will be placed at the Haast airfield to mark the southern link. It will be unveiled in December.www.greystar.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3603&Itemid=41
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:47:44 GMT 12
From the Otago Daily TimesMemories of flying re-livedBy MARJORIE COOK | Monday, 12 May 2008THE OLD SCHOOL PLANE: From left — David Glubb (60), of Christchurch, Roger Eggeling (63), of Nelson, Kerry Eggeling (60), of Haast, Peter Eggeling (64), of Christchurch, John Buchanan (65), of Australia, and Cliff Eggeling (62), of Timaru, with Betty Eggeling (87) front, at the Haast airstrip on Saturday. Behind them is the Dominie aircraft the men flew in 50 years ago to bring Mr Glubb to Haast. The aircraft is now based at Mandeville, with Croydon Aviation Co. — Photo by Marjorie Cook.A flight in a DH89 Dominie on May 10, 1958 gave 10-year-old Christchurch lad David Glubb the shock of his life and changed his outlook for ever.
A re-enactment flight on Saturday, celebrating the anniversary of his first visit to Haast, brought the memories flooding back for Mr Glubb and his friends — only this time the flight took him over familiar places to be greeted by familiar faces.
Fifty years ago, the Loreto College pupil accepted an invitation from the Eggeling brothers to stay at their Haast farm for the May school holidays.
In what was to become an annual event, the holiday journey involved a 2.30am start to catch the railcar from Christchurch to Hokitika, before flying south to Haast.
The adventure was a return favour for the times Mr Glubb's parents had hosted the Eggeling boys at their Blenheim Rd home during term-time weekends.
As children, the Eggeling brothers and their cousins, the Buchanans knew more about airplanes than cars, buses and trains.
Roads to Haast were not completed until the 1960s with the Dominie service ending shortly after the Fox Glacier road was finished.
“Everything I did in that fortnight was a new experience. I had never ridden in a railcar, never flown in an airplane, never ridden a horse, never shot a deer, never caught an eel ... I think I learned the most in that fortnight than any other fortnight,” Mr Glubb recalled on Saturday.
When the boys went home there were jobs for them to do, so David pitched in too.
He took to Haast so well he visited frequently and even lived on the coast for six years, running the Haast motor camp.
Betty Eggeling recalled when the boys came home from their Christchurch schools they would “explode” with energy and required a lot of feeding.
“But we seemed to keep the sheep and bullocks up to them. And plenty of plum duffs,” Mrs Eggeling recalled.
She and her husband Charlie, who died in 1995, had four sons and two daughters.
Charlie would keep the boys under control “fairly well” until they got out of earshot, Mrs Eggeling said.
If they heard a “Cooee” or the crack of Charlie's stock whip, they knew they were in trouble.
“It was just a huge shock for us to go to boarding school. We'd never worn a pair of shoes in a lives,” Kerry Eggeling recalled. Cliff Eggeling said he had never seen a train or eaten ice cream until he went to school.
“I take my hat off to Mum and Dad ...”
“Boarding school got our brains working so we could be more academic. But it was a hell of a hard for them. Mum had all four boys at boarding school at once,” Cliff said.
The flight from Hokitika to Haast used to cost £4 and 10 shillings for each of the passengers.
To charter the Dominie which seats eight, now costs about $900 an hour.
Pilot Ryan Southam, of Gore said only 10 of the aircraft were still flying in the world.www.odt.co.nz/your-town/haast/6826/memories-flying-re-lived
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:48:15 GMT 12
Betty wages war on weedsBy MARJORIE COOK - Otago Daily Times | Wednesday, 11 November 2009Haast identity Betty Eggeling with her trusty weed spraying kit at Haast Aerodrome.When Haast's newly extended airstrip was threatened by an invasion of ragwort and gorse recently, the community's senior resident Betty Eggeling (89) took decisive action.
Mrs Eggeling became an expert in spraying pest plants over many years of farming at Haast and the fruits of her labour in late October are now showing, with locals reporting a "100% kill".
Heleen Johnston, the convener of Haast's 75th Airline Anniversary to be held at Haast on December 18-19, said yesterday the committee was honoured to have Mrs Eggeling spray the airstrip, which is now 860m long to cater for large aircraft expected during next month's fly-in.
Mrs Eggeling used her Honda four-wheel motorbike equipped with spray tank, pump and boom to spray the weeds that had sprung up since the last major working bee in July.
The airstrip is on Dave Saxton's land behind the Johnston's petrol station and vehicle workshop.
Eammond Johnston said Mrs Eggeling was unstoppable and had declined an offer of lunch, because she had brought her own.
"Mrs Eggeling is a very independent woman who shares the strong community spirit which has been prevalent for the whole time the committee has been working on the big event," Mr Eammond said in a press release.
Mrs Eggeling is descended from Haast's first pioneer families and spraying became her specialty subject when son Kerry took over the family farm many years ago.
"Even after parts of the farm were on-sold, she still continued to spray [even on some of the sold land], not wanting to lose the ground hard gained. So it was only natural perhaps that when Betty heard that weeds had sprung up on the aerodrome she promptly volunteered her services and expertise. CRT kindly donated the weed and moss spray ... and we have been fortunate to have a 100% kill," Mr Johnston said.
In other preparatory work, the committee has gravelled and rolled the car park and areas for trade stalls and an 18m by 57m marquee, in case it rains.
Fundraising and sponsorship efforts continue, with the committee facing several large bills and needing to raise at least $10,000. It has about $1500.
Mrs Johnston said the ticket house had been completed and now needed a coat of paint. The original parcel scales had also been tracked down and would be returned to Haast for the event.
Historic de Havilland airliners are due to fly in on December 18 and an air pageant will be held on December 19.
The events also include a plaque unveiling at the Haast Visitors Centre on December 19, with music, entertainment and food.
The Haast event commemorates New Zealand's first scheduled airline and celebrates 75 years of airlines in New Zealand.
Visitors are expected from around New Zealand for the event.www.odt.co.nz/your-town/wanaka/81496/betty-wages-war-weeds
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:50:10 GMT 12
The magnificent desolation of HaastEdge of the earth!By PETER REID - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 07 March 2009SHADOWLANDS: A setting sun and unsettled sky bring a relentless feeling of solitude to Haast Beach. — PETER REID/The Dominion Post.Remoteness, isolation, desolation — three things you're unlikely to demand from a holiday, I'm guessing.
Yet, for some, desolation can be inspiring and romantic. So, yes, while New Zealand offers its fair share of extreme sports and snow-capped vistas, it also possesses something often overlooked: nothing. Glorious, beautiful nothing.
If you're someone who finds the idea of being miles from anywhere appealing, of being free from cellphone ringtones and irate motorists, of finding space, then Haast, on the South Island's West Coast, might be for you.
My girlfriend and I, travellers from Ireland and Britain, never intended Haast to be more than an overnight stop en route from Wanaka to Fox Glacier. We were soon won over by its rustic charm and magnificent desolation.
Nestling unassumingly where the coast rises into the mountains and rainforest of South Westland, Haast consists of three main zones: Haast Township, Haast Junction and Haast Beach.
With a population of 297, the majority of "Haastafarians" live in the township, a small pocket of civilisation where you'll find accommodation for most budgets, a restaurant bar, a mini-supermarket and, just up the road, the visitors' centre.
But then it's not about Haast itself; it's about its position within that beautiful nothingness. It was only when we ventured out that we began to get a sense of the environs: the emptiness, the space.
Heading south, we drove along a straight road disappearing into the vanishing point, the ocean crashing on our right, clouds of wind-swept heather to our left. Vast banks of wetlands soon scrolled into view, no doubt hiding a multitude of species.
From bird life to seal and penguin colonies, nature is everywhere in the Haast region, and the lifeblood of the many organised river safaris.
Within a few minutes we had arrived at Okuru Beach, a deserted fishing hamlet, and took a walk along its craggy beach, the tide not so much rolling in as seeping in from obtuse angles, sweeping into strange puddles, melting and eddying around jagged ancient rock formations. We were the only people on the beach until a resident joined us, a bright-eyed labrador who insisted we play fetch with him. Soon he was gone, and we were alone again.
Jackson Bay is about 45 minutes from Haast, and the southern-most point on the West Coast where the road literally, well, ceases.
Passing only a few cars on the journey, we entered the village with a feeling that this really was New Zealand's ultimate cul-de-sac.
Not in a bad way, though; from Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island to Land's End back in Britain, there's something inherently appealing about going as far as you can, venturing to the very edge, and this really was a frontier of sorts.
As if to echo my sentiments, a splintered wooden sign, hand-painted in greasy green paint and hanging from a shack, said: The End Of The Road? I was intrigued by the question mark. For me, there was no doubt — we really could go no further. Actually, it felt more like the end of the world.
Jackson Bay is another fishing village of some historical significance. Originally settled in 1875, immigrants hoping to start a new life found their hopes drowned as relentless downpours destroyed their farms.
Pleas to the government for assistance in building a wharf were ignored, meaning the town was soon isolated and in need of vital supplies. A road to the village was not built until the 1960s and by then, the farming communities were long gone.
Today, it is a privilege to enjoy that sense of isolation, exactly what proved the downfall for those early settlers.
Modern-day Jackson Bay has fishing very much at its heart. Rusted, salt-encrusted metal contraptions sit alongside all manner of hulking, spike-adorned paraphernalia.
Below the wooden jetty, among frolicking seals, fishing boats bob on grey water, their pilots clad in grimy waders and gumboots, their weather- beaten faces telling more than a thousand shanties ever could.
The Cray Pot provides the centrepiece to the village: a cafe in a portacabin serving fish and chips, whitebait and other locally caught seafood.
It's the perfect place to sit and hear tall tales of giant squid and mermaid sightings, and its reputation is such that blackboards advertise its wares along the main road all the way back to Haast.
After a day of big skies, near-silence and solitude we made our way back to Haast, calling in at Haast Beach on our return.
A huge swath of shale along the coast, Haast Beach was, as expected, deserted, and strewn with oceanic bric-a-brac, the blustering wind and the crashing waves the only sounds.
As the sun cast long shadows in the golden twilight, and my girlfriend and I meandered, I realised that Haast provided the perfect antidote to our previous two locations, Queenstown and Wanaka.
Haast was quiet time. Haast was thinking time. Haast was great!www.stuff.co.nz/travel/1389857
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:53:18 GMT 12
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:53:54 GMT 12
Rare aviation photos in anniversary bookBy NICOLA WILLIAMS - Eastern Courier | 5:00AM - Wednesday, 02 December 2009AUTHOR: Richard Waugh has written a book about aviation history inspired by his upbringing. — NICOLA WILLIAMS/Eastern Courier.An aviation historian is flying high over the launch of his new book.
Hoki to Haast by Howick author Richard Waugh is hot off the press, providing a history of West Coast airlines.
It documents New Zealand’s first airline to fly scheduled services from Hokitika to Haast.
The South Westland Air Service pioneered airmail, air ambulance, alpine tourist flying and versatile freight work.
The book has more than 250 rare photographs documenting the story of de Havilland Fox Moths, Dragonflies and Dominies, explaining how they became vital to those living in the isolated south-west.
The book has been released to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the airline.
Mr Waugh’s father Brian was the last South Westland Air Service pilot which sparked his interest in aviation history.
"The memories are seared on my mind."
People from all over the country sent in photos for the book which includes a lot of historical information.
Mr Waugh’s labour of love took two years to write.
Seeing the finished result is "immensely satisfying", he says.
It’s a buzz that has not worn off after seeing 11 books published.
"A book will last forever and be around after we are gone so I get a real kick out of that. It’s an ongoing record."
A de Havilland fly-in and book launch to celebrate New Zealand’s first airline is on Saturday, December 05, 2pm to 5pm, North Shore Aero Club, Postman Rd, Dairy Flat.
Mr Waugh is also the organiser of the 75th anniversary celebrations in Hokitika from December 17 to 20.
• For more details call Mr Waugh on 09 533-9400.www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/eastern-courier/3113768/Rare-aviation-photos-in-anniversary-book
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 11:57:41 GMT 12
Vintage aircraft fly in to celebrate NZ’s first airlineBy MICHELLE LOTTER - North Harbour News | Friday, 04 December 2009UP AND AWAY: Stan Smith, pictured over the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, is flying his de Havilland Fox Moth as part of celebrations for the 75th anniversary of New Zealand’s first airline. — Photo: JOHN KING.This month marks the 75th anniversary of New Zealand’s first airline. And to celebrate the Hokitika and Haast pioneer airline, North Shore airfield at Dairy Flat is running a vintage aircraft fly-in and book launch tomorrow.
Based at the Postman Road airfield is a de Havilland Fox Moth restored by North Shore Aero Club member Stan Smith.
The plane is almost identical to the original 1934 airliner that flew on the West Coast of the South Island, organiser and aviation historian Richard Waugh says.
The Fox Moth restored by Mr Smith was imported in 1947 for light freight and charter work around the South Island, including hauling venison and whitebait on the West Coast.
Hoki to Haast — a new book about the South Westland air service which ran from 1934 until 1967 — incorporates the story of the airline’s development on the West Coast up until now.
"We are most grateful to so many people who have willingly helped us with this big research and publishing project," says Mr Waugh, son of the last South Westland air service pilot.www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-harbour-news/3123375/Vintage-aircraft-fly-in-to-celebrate-NZ-s-first-airline
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 12:30:17 GMT 12
Reliving aviation from yesteryearBy MARIANNE KELLY - Howick & Botany Times | Wednesday, 09 December 2009EARLY FLYER: Jack Humphries fondly remembers flying the South Island's west coast. — Times photo: Wayne Martin.JACK HUMPHRIES finished his career flying a modern airliner to many exotic international destinations.
But the 85-year-old retired pilot’s fondest memories of his aviation days are “seat-of-the-pants” sorties on the South Island’s west coast.
At the age of 32, Mr Humphries was one of the first pilots to fly for the newly-established West Coast Airways.
It ran a scheduled service from Hokitika to Haast, and non-scheduled passenger charter and scenic flights from airfields south of Hokitika including Milford Sound.WONDERFUL MACHINE: A Dominie on the tarmac at Haast in the early 1960s.Mr Humphries, of Highland Park, spent all of 1957 flying Dominies for the airline carrying a range of goods from whitebait to crayfish tails and legs. The tourist trade was also getting established with flights from Hokitika to the Franz Josef Glacier, Haast and sometimes into the Fox Glacier.
“It was a great year with plenty of variety,” he recalls. “Because of the lack of roads, the aeroplane was the main way of getting supplies in and out of back-country farms.
“Some of the holdings were still being operated by pioneering families who continued long-standing grudges with each other.
“We had to be careful and diplomatic with the warring families because there were a lot of different allegiances.”
He was also wary of the three women who ran the airfield at Haast particularly Myrtle Cron, who was a member of one of the warring families.
“She was an ace with a 303,” he says. “We had to be careful of the three of them. They had a great capacity for catching out people they didn’t like.”
He was always ready for the occasional encounter with Civil Aviation people who were on the lookout for overloaded aircraft.
“You had to talk fast. You learnt to survive in tricky situations.”
As well as the local bureaucracy, Mr Humphries had to look out for bad weather rolling in from the Tasman Sea.
“I had the odd turn-back because of the weather. I didn’t want to push my luck too much.”
One of the scarier incidents occurred when Mr Humphries was flying south to Haast unaware that a local private flyer Des Nolan was heading north on the same flight path.
“We were both seeking visibility and had to watch the breakers.
“But we must have both been watching the surf line too intently because, as I reached a headland and started to swing out to sea, Des pulled up doing the same thing.
“We looked up and saw each other, changed our altitudes and ‘blinked’ past each other. When we looked out our side windows we could have shaken hands.”
Much of the flying involved supply dropping. This was in the days before helicopters when supplies were thrown out the doors of the fixed-wing aircraft.
“Bill Hewitt and I ran a twin-engine freighter plane and dropped bags of cement down to the Milford Track where they were building the Pompolona Hut.
“The Works Department brought us bags of cement which had to be manhandled to a hinged shute.
“We clipped a parachute cable on and pushed the bags down. I did the back-breaking work while Bill did the flying.
“On one drop we barely got the last bag out and one of the two engines started to cough. We had a fairly low flight back to Mossburn but we got there.”
Mr Humphries made his last West Coast Airways flight in December 1957. He became a top-dressing pilot in Waikato and then flew Lockheed Electras, DC8s and DC10s for TEAL and Air New Zealand before retiring in July 1979.
His retirement came just months before the tragic DC10 crash into Mt Erebus in the Antarctica.
“I was on a rostered crew to go down there. My name came up and I was looking forward to it but retired just before a flight came up.
“I knew Jim Collins [the DC10 captain who flew the Erebus flight]. He was a fine fellow.”
• Celebrations are being held from December 17-20 at Hokitika and Haast to mark 75 years of licensed scheduled airlines in New Zealand.
• Phone organiser on Richard Waugh (09) 533-9400 or 273-9044 or email for more details.www.times.co.nz/cms/front_page_feature/2009/12/reliving_aviation_from_yesteryear.php?www.times.co.nz/cms/front_page_feature/2009/12/reliving_aviation_from_yesteryear.php?page=2www.times.co.nz/cms/front_page_feature/2009/12/reliving_aviation_from_yesteryear.php?page=3
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Post by Kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 12, 2009 12:30:37 GMT 12
Anniversary show takes offNorth Harbour News | Friday, 11 December 2009DRAGON RUN: A rare de Havilland DH.84 Dragon takes off. — Photo: JILL GUILLEMIN.Stormy Friday weather stopped some vintage planes making it to the North Shore Aero Club Vintage Fly in on Saturday, but there were still great crowds.
The North Shore Aero Club celebrated the 75th anniversary of New Zealand’s first airline with a variety of vintage planes on show.
Laurie Larsen, 96, of St Heliers was there to celebrate, being one of the passengers on the original Fox Moth used by the airline in 1937.FOND MEMORIES: Laurie Larsen, 96, of St Heliers was a passenger on the original Fox Moth in 1937. — Photo: JILL GUILLEMIN.The show featured the DH83C Fox Moth, which had a complete rebuild and is one of only two Canadian Fox Moths in the world still flying.
There was also a Nanchang CJ6 Chinese Air Force advanced trainer, and a DH84A Dragon which is one of only two in the world that are still airworthy.
The following day thousands gathered for the Browns Bay Beach Fly Past Aero Show.www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-harbour-news/3147159/Anniversary-show-takes-off
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